The RTW-Duenna, Rev 106 ================================================================= February 2007 This is a small utility to enforce the rules for the Round the World Race FlightSim vs Avsim vs Sim-Outhouse. It will protocol many things from the start to the landing, checking to make sure the rules are not broken. After the landing it will create and display a full protocol as a text-file and as a JPEG-Graphic suitable for uploading to a forum. Requirements ------------ You will need the current FSUIPC to use this utility. I tested it running FSUIPC v3.530 on MSFS 2004 and with FSUIPC v4.060 on MSFS X. I suppose it should work on FS2002 and possibly with older FSUIPCs, if anyone has any feedback about the functionality on other setups, please send me a mail. Remember, older FSUIPCs are not supported by the author of FSUIPC. Links: http://www.schiratti.com/dowson http://forums.simflight.com/viewforum.php?f=54 This utility was written in VB6, the required runtime files are included in the full installation. A full installation is required before installing the update-files. For more information about the VB6 runtime, please see: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7b9ba261-7a9c-43e7-9117-f673077ffb3c&displaylang=en (I hope this link works for a few hours :-). Otherwise search Microsoft for "Visual Basic 6.0 Run-Time" and take the newest version.) For the charting the program relys on the Great Circly Mapper from Karl Swartz (http://gc.kls2.com) - thanks Karl! For this reason an open internet connection is required when the graphic is generated (at the end of a flight). For some practical reasons, you also need a Microsoft Flight simulator 2002, 2004 or FSX. I haven't personally tested FS 2002, but I've heard from users that it works. I'm not a beta-tester for FS11 :-). When installing this program, you will need administrator rights to register the required DLLs. Installation of the ZIP-Version ------------------------------- This version is only recommended for experienced users. - The VB6-Runtime is required but not included - Extract all the files into their subdirectories - Copy the files in the folder "sys" into your system32-folder - Register the files using the enclosed reg_dll.bat - Create a shortcut to the desktop to the DUENNA.EXE Caution: when copying files into your system32-folder, make sure you don't overwrite existing, newer files. That's it :). If you have problems getting it to run like this, please use the installer-version. When you are done, you should have the following setup: ...\Duenna.exe \shelexec.exe \readme.txt (this file) \reg_dll.bat \data\airports.dat \data\gcm_dummy.gif \sys\(lots of files) When running the Duenna, it will create the following paths: \output\(date)\ (your log files here) \output\temp\ (temp files here, can be deleted if desired) Installation in Windows Vista ----------------------------- The current installer does not set any folder permissions. To use the Duenna properly, you need to set the folder permissions for the Duenna to include the user group "Users" with full access. Not setting these permissions will possibly result in shadow-copies of the log files being created - which might make posting the log files and validation graphic on the web site a bit harder (since they will not be in the path that is specified in the program). You can find the shadow-copies in: c:\Users\[your-user-name]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ Usage ----- Simplest usage: 1) Start MSFS, use 'create a flight' to position your aircraft on any runway. 2) Start the tool. It will display the current status. 3) When you are ready, on-ground, all on-ground-tests are green, you can grab the baton by clicking on the big button on top. This will activate the protocols. 4) As soon as you take off, then en-route tests are enforced. 5) After sucessfully landing you can drop the baton. 6) The program then displays a text file with the full protocoll and a graphic suitable for uploading to a forum. The full path to the graphic is displayed in the text file so you can just copy-&-paste the file with the path into the upload/attachment-field of the forum. If rules were broken en-route, it will display the issues in the text log file and note that the route was not valid in the graphic. 7) Pressing Reset returns you to the start functions and lets you take another leg. - If you manually abort a flight, it will also display the prococols and graphic. - If you crash the flight will abort and it will display the protocols and graphic. On-Ground-Tests --------------- The following on-ground-tests are done and enforced: * "On-Ground" This is a flag set by the FS to notify that the aircraft is currently on the ground. * "Slew off" The slew-mode must be turned off. If you want to be sure you don't accidentially activate the slew mode, you can set a different button-combination for this in your FS Configuration (i.e. Ctrl-Y instead of Y). * "GS<5kts" The current ground speed must be less than 5 knots. This way you can press the button when on the starting roll, if you are not going too fast. * "Rate 1x" The simulation rate must be set to 1x. * "not crashed" Seems logical :) * "A/C type ok" No, not your airconditioning: the aircraft must have piston or turboprop engines or be a helicopter. * "Realism" The following realism settings must be set: - "Unlimited fuel": unchecked - "Detect crashes": checked - "Stress causes damage": checked - "Crash Tolerance": fully to the right * "Real W/X" The following weather settings must be set: - "Real Weather": either static or with 15 min. updates - "Download winds aloft": checked - "Disable turbulence effect on aircraft": unchecked Only when all tests are positive the whole field will turn green and you are cleared for take-off. You may take off with the wrong Aircraft-type, as many aircraft are indicated incorrectly. You can also take off with the wrong realism or weather-settings, however this will invalidate the flight. En-Route Tests -------------- The following en-route tests are done and enforced: * "Same A/C" Is green as long as you don't change aircraft. * "Slew off" The slew-mode must be turned off. If you want to be sure you don't accidentially activate the slew mode, you can set a different button-combination for this in your FS Configuration (i.e. Ctrl-Y instead of Y). * "no jump" Checks if the movement between two data-points more or less matches the current speeds. To test this, you can use my PlanePlacer (see FlightSim or Avsim). * "Rate 1x" The simulation rate must be set to 1x. * "PA<8500ft" Checks to make sure the aircraft is not above 8500ft pressure altitude (when the altimeter is set to 29.92' or 1013.2mb). This is a special rule for the 2006 RTW Race. The PA is measured every minute - you have a last chance to get below the required PA once the button starts blinking yellow. When it is red the flight is no longer valid. * "not crashed" Seems logical :) * "FS available" Checks to see if FS is still running, i.e. hasn't crashed the system, etc.. Arrrggghhhh! * "Refueled" Checks to see if your aircraft is burning or generating fuel - inflight refueling will invalidate your flight. You may however dump your fuel inflight. Only when all tests are positive (except overspeed), the whole field will turn green and your flight stays validated. All rule exceptions are logged with information about the time, position and state when it occured and was resolved. If you feel that a rule was unfairly logged as an exception, you can use this data to help state your case. Summary ------- In the summary you can find the total distance between the take-off and landing airports, the average ground speed you used, the maximum groundspeed, IAS and altitude you attained. This information can be used to check for invalid or "tuned" aircraft (i.e. Mach-2 Cessnas :)). Full status ----------- The "full status" takes you to a window showing the current data points as they arrive from your FS. Here you can check each setting to see that it is coming correctly, you could also use it as an information screen while on a long flight :). Leaving it open will of course cause a longer time spent in the loop, i.e. it will use more CPU-ressources than when closed. Settings ======== The program runs in an interval specified under Settings. This interval defaults to 1000ms = 1 second. You can change this interval higher if you system is not so fast, or change it lower if you want a faster response-time from the program. If you set the interval to more than 2 seconds, the program will do the crash-checks every 2 seconds and do the other checks in the given interval. The airports database comes from FS9, exported using TrafficTools. You cannot change the airport-file yourself. Real-Time Transponder ===================== The program includes an optional real-time transponder which can be used to send the pilots position to a server, where other people can easily track the teams (or pilots) progress. Currently the following data is transfered: - User name + password - race-ID (to be determined by the admins) - Location (Latitude, Longitude, Altitude) - ground speed, Wind speed, Wind direction - Flight-State (takeoff, enroute, landed) - On-Ground-State - Valid-State Note: the real-time transponder is disabled for the 2007 version of the RTW. User activation --------------- The use of the transponder feature requires previous registration of your user name and password at the global server. At the moment, that server is being run by myself. If you wish to use this feature, please send me a short mail with the desired user name and password (or no password, if you want me to generate one for you). Settings -------- The transponder feature must be activated in order to work. You need to enter the server URL or use the "defaults" button to have the program use the default server. The current server name is "http://fsrtw.meine-sucht.ch/PositionAdd.aspx" . You now need to enter the user name and password exactly as you have registered them - they are case-sensitive, so "password" is not the same as "PASSWORD". Additionally, you need to specify the Race-ID, as given to you by the race administators. Once you have entered the server, user name and password, you can test the connection. If the connection is OK and the user is validated, then you will recieve a confirmation. If something is wrong, you should receive a message leading to the fault. The program accesses the server through a normal HTTP access, just as a web browser would. It uses the proxy settings as set in the MS Internet Explorer, should you need those. (The same connection is used to transfer the map after validation.) Once the connection has been confirmed, you can now set the transfer interval - to anywhere between 1 and 15 minutes, the default is 5 minutes. Once the transponder is activated, it will always transmit the current position when you have the baton. With the transponder activated, you can also specify that you are the official baton- holding pilot. This will be recognized on the official map - but will not count as a valid baton flight, as these need to be made through forum-postings. There is currently no visual feedback that the position is being transfered. Posting to the Baton-Server =========================== The Duenna has a provision to post to a central baton-server. This allows the organizers to keep track of the baton runs for each team in a faster way. All flights are manually validated against the forums. The baton post is shown under the validation graphic. Settings -------- In order to use the baton-server, you must specify the following information in the settings: - Username - Team If you have a realtime account, you can specify your password as well; it will be used to verify that the posting was effectively done by you. Posting the baton-post ---------------------- The baton-data is passed through a normal URL, which is generally sent to the server through the Duenna. The baton post URL is also included in the text-log file (without the password, however). If required or desired, the URL can be copied to a normal browser and posted that way. It can be posted at a later time, should the normal internet access to the baton-server not be available at the moment. Keep in mind that the baton-post is only used for mapping purposes and does not constitute a certified baton pass, which must be done on the forum. The baton-post can be automated, by selecting "Automatically post baton runs?" in the settings menu and by having the checkbox "Carrying the official baton" selected in the main Duenna window. If the post has been done automatically, the graphics window will display "repost" instead of "post" next to the baton URL. The baton-post can be done more than once if the user is unsure that it has been posted - the server will only record each flight once. Validation ========== The text log-file and the graphic both have a Validation-ID imbedded. This is a 9-digit hexadecimal (number 0-9, letters A-F) code which validates the following information: - Takeoff + Landing System UTC time - Takeoff + Landing location latitude / longitude - Aircraft type and name - Max / Average GS - Max altitude - Travelled distance - Error count / Validity of flight This Validation-ID helps to guard against "creative flights". Everyone can check the validation of another users flight by using the "Test a validation" function in the Settings- Window. Here you need to copy + paste (or retype, if from a graphic) the information needed, every letter is important, case, symbols, everything must be exactly correct. Additionally you enter the Validation-ID and the Revision-Nr of the validation (so that you can also validate older systems, should this system change). The program will then either tell you the validation is correct or incorrect. If it is incorrect, first make sure that you have everything EXACTLY correct, each symbol counts (those degree-signs "°" might be hard to get on all keyboards - you can type these using ALT+0176 (numberpad) or use CHARMAP). The information contained in the fields may change from version to version of this program - however you will always be able to validate the given Validation-ID as this is based on the information shown in THAT log, not the information shown in your log. Please note that the included airport database matches the airport ICAO names as specified in FS2004. Several of these names have been changed in FSX. This does not change the validitiy of a flight - it will just show a different airport identifier in the log files. ======================================================================= Copyright: This program and documentation is freeware. They may not be used for commercial purpose or sold, resold or repackaged in any way. Free distribution is allowed with the author's written consent. Any changes in this archive are prohibited. Any duplication, reproduction, partial or complete of any material made by the author is totally forbidden without prior authorization from the author. The copyright for this program and the documentation remains with the author, Johannes Mueller. Thanks for helping develop the ideas to this program go out to the great organizers of the 2005 RTW-Race: Ian Dale (TornadoWilkes), Michael MacKuen and Matt Smith! Without your encouragement this would have remained just a "neat idea", thanks guys! ======================================================================= Disclaimer: The program(s) and/or file(s) are supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of these program(s) and/or file(s). However it is inconceivable that these program(s) and/or file(s) will do any harm to your computer. ======================================================================= Johannes Mueller, Zug / Switzerland, February 2007 Please contact me at jm@johannesmueller.com for your constructive feedback! Please let me know if you use this program outside of the "official" RTW-Race, it's always nice to hear when something is put to real use! =======================================================================